Retirees group, Kodak reach an agreement

EKRA Ltd., an organization of Eastman Kodak Co. retirees, announced Thursday it has reached an agreement with Kodak on a motion pertaining to the Kodak Excess Retirement Income Plan and the Kodak Unfunded Retirement Income Plan.

Kodak halted the two pension plans for retirees in January 2012 when the company filed for bankruptcy. The move ended payments for more than 1,000 retirees.

Under the motion approved in court on Wednesday, Kodak has agreed to recalculate all KURIP and KERIP claims using a more favorable mortality table and a discount rate. EKRA officials said the changes will result in an average increase of some 14 percent for claim amounts.

“While this agreement does not give us everything we asked for, after consultation with our attorney, Jeff Dove, we believe it provides as much as, if not more than, we could expect to achieve if we litigated the issues before the court,” said Art Roberts, president of EKRA, in a statement.

Kodak also has agreed to allow KERIP and KURIP claims for more than 400 retirees who failed to successfully file a claim in time, EKRA officials said. Kodak also agreed to pay attorney fees and disbursements as approved by the court.

“We are pleased with this portion of the agreement, as it allows EKRA to conserve its resources, and apply those resources to EKRA’s core mission—namely, advocacy on behalf of Kodak retirees,” Roberts said.

Kodak spokesman Christopher Veronda said the company is pleased to have reached the settlement stipulation with EKRA and several holders of claims under KERIP and KURIP regarding their motion to appoint a committee to represent the interests of holders of claims under KERIP and KURIP.

"Because it allows us to focus on the work remaining to complete our emergence without the time and expense that would have been required by continuing litigation on this matter in court," he said. "Kodak believes that its original methodology for valuing these unfunded pension claims was fair and reasonable, but this resolution provides a mutually agreeable adjustment in the calculation."

The matter is not related to the main Kodak pension plan, Kodak Retirement Income Plan, that covers the vast majority of Kodak employees, he said. KRIP is funded adequately to continue paying its obligations.